


Working Levi

by YourShadow



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: I'm tagging relationships and characters as they come up, Multi, Work!AU, levi has odd jobs, modern!AU, yes there will be different pairings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-09
Updated: 2015-03-16
Packaged: 2018-02-16 19:41:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2282202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YourShadow/pseuds/YourShadow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi working various jobs because why not.</p><p>These will be drabble-ish, one-chapter odd jobs completely unrelated to each other. Multiple pairings for all your shipper needs. Feel free to suggest jobs for Levi and I'll do my best to depict them accurately.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Levi's Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this exciting chapter, Levi applies to work at Victoria’s Secret because it’s the only place where he’s allowed to wear all black and he’s too gay to get embarrassed over ladies undies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Attack on Titan, nor am I affiliated with Victoria’s Secret. I do have a shit-ton of their bras and underwear though…

**The Application**

Levi sighed, resting his chin on his hand as he slouched over the computer. He was scrolling through job websites, looking for a decent posting so he could make some money and pay some bills and basically not starve.

_Victoria’s Secret is now hiring! Apply now by filling out an application and take it in to your local store!_

“…hmmm.” Levi glanced at the responsibilities and requirements. It seemed easy enough, even though he wasn’t very aware of the products. He was a gay man who had no use for bras or frilly underwear. Well, maybe if he had a boyfriend…

Regardless, the store obviously catered to a certain clientele, which he was not a part of, but it didn’t require anything higher than a high school diploma. He printed out the form and completed it quickly, attaching his wildly exaggerated resume. After a quick search, he discovered there was a store in the nearest mall and hopped in his car, a shitty Honda something.

_Vroom, vroom._

***

“Hey, I have an application.” He stated to the first girl in black he saw once he entered the store. He glanced around, noticing the colorful displays.

“Okay, I’ll get this to the manager and we’ll call you for an interview.” The girl replied, not even batting an eyelash at the fact that he was a guy.

“Thanks.” He told her, watching as she weaved through the store to hand the application off. He decided it might be helpful to his cause if he looked around.

With a hand in his pocket, he browsed the selection of bras and underwear, wandering toward the section designated for college-age clothing. He had to admit some of it looked cute. The lingerie and corsets were detailed, making him envious of women confident enough to put them on.

“Hey, when are you available for an interview?” the girl asked, practically sneaking up on him.

He jumped slightly, not expecting her to find him so soon. “Um, anytime, really.”

“Thursday at two o’clock okay?”

“Sure.”

“Alright, see you then!” she told him cheerily. Her short, reddish-brown hair bobbed as she went to help a customer.

He shrugged and headed back home to look for more jobs, just in case this one didn’t go any further than an interview.

* * *

**The Interview**

Levi figured wearing all black to the interview wouldn’t hurt, even though it was hot as balls outside. He entered the store again and saw the same petite girl from last time. He couldn’t believe it, but she was shorter than he was.

“Wait right here, look around for a bit, and we’ll call you in.” she told him. He nodded and began perusing the shelves again.

He saw a few other women dressed nicely, also perusing. It seemed odd that they would all show up for an interview at the same time.

Until, of course, he realized this was a group interview. He was the only guy, sitting in the middle of a circle of women who were applying for the same position. His face was grim, but he told himself to look more open and approachable.

“Okay everyone, I’m going to ask some questions just to get to know you, so try to answer the best you can. First, an icebreaker: what would you take with you on a deserted island?” the manager asked.

“Oh, maybe a book, or my cell phone.” The first girl replied.

“A radio, an extra set of clothes, and some food.” another girl answered.

They turned to him. “Probably a raft or something so I can get off the island.” He blurted. They laughed, and he thought maybe he chose the wrong answer, but the other girls started nodding.

“Yeah, that’s true, I’d bring some kind of survival gear or something.” The girl after him replied.

“I’d bring my boyfriend so I wouldn’t be bored!” the last girl exclaimed. Another round of laughter ensued.

It took him a few questions to catch on to the fact that he needed to stand out. He needed to essentially provide better answers than these other girls to be considered. But he wasn’t quite sure what answers were better or worse.

“Why do you like Victoria’s Secret? What is your favorite thing in the store?” the manager asked.

 _Shit_. Levi thought.

“I love the underwear! Most of my pairs are from here.” One girl said.

“Yeah, and I get all my bras from here because they fit so well.”

“I love the swimsuits, but I also like the perfumes!”

“…” he was silent for a moment. “Well, I don’t personally shop here for myself…” they giggled. “But if I were female, I would probably get all my lingerie from here.”

They burst into laughter and he wasn’t sure if he should be embarrassed or proud.

“I’m glad to hear that! Do you have a girlfriend? Maybe you can buy her some lingerie.” The manager smiled.

“Um…well I’m gay so…” he paused. “But I have female friends I shop for.”

“Good! Bring them in sometime.” The manager replied.

He was a bit more relaxed for the rest of the questions, which were practical and job-related. He could start to tell who would get called back and who would most likely be forgotten.

* * *

**The Offer**

He was called a few days after the first interview and told to come in for a second interview. It was another group, and he recognized one girl from the first interview, but the rest were new. It was another round of questions, similar but more in-depth than the ones before. He came away from it thinking he did well, at least as well as last time. Hopefully it was good enough. Next up was checking references, and since he only worked for one other person, it should be quick and easy.

He was just about to apply for another job a couple days later when his phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hi! This is the manager you interviewed with at Victoria’s Secret. I’d like to offer you a job with us!”

“R-Really?” he blurted. She laughed and he winced, hoping he didn’t just mess up his chance. “I mean, that’s great. Thank you very much.”

“So you accept? When are you available to start?” she asked.

“Yes, and I’m available immediately.”

“Alright, come in on Monday at 10:00 am.”

“Okay, thanks again.” he replied, holding the phone up to his ear even after she hung up. He stared at his computer screen, at another job listing, and slowly put the phone down. Standing, he did a quick victory dance consisting of several jumps, arm flailing, and twirling in a circle. “Yessss!” he hissed, pumping his fist in the air.

* * *

**Training**

He came in the first day dressed in all black and began training. They put him in different parts of the store and several positions to see which one he would fit best in, despite the fact that he applied for the cashier position. He didn’t mind doing other positions, like the floor sales where he could move around and helped out customers with products.

The training was exhausting and a lot more work than he originally thought, but since he had other retail experience it wasn’t too bad. He was getting the hang of everything and soon became friends with the first girl he met when he came in to apply, whose name he found out was Petra.

She was one of the girls helping out with training, and he enjoyed having her help. She was cheerful, but he learned she also had a commanding side and could be quite dangerous when pushed to her limit. She was a tough girl, no doubt, and he respect the hell out of her for it. When customers gave her shit, she took it with a smile but made it clear she wasn’t getting paid to deal with their idiotic asses.

“You’re a pretty quick learner.” Petra commented one day. He was almost done with training, and had a feeling he knew where they would put him.

He shrugged. “Comes natural, I guess. I was a cashier at Target before.”

“So what happened with that?”

“Got caught fucking my boss. I’m glad that wasn’t mentioned in the reference.” He snorted.

Petra laughed. “Wow, that must have been a fun experience. Although here you don’t have to worry since you’re gay and most of us are women.”

“Isn’t one of the regional managers a guy?”

“Mr. Bodt? Yeah, he’s really sweet too. But I think he’s married.”

“Well shucks.”

She cackled again. “I’m glad they decided to hire you. Some women like having a male’s opinion, even if he’s not playing for the same team.”

“I’m glad too, starving isn’t my thing.” He replied with a small smile.

Ultimately he was put in the cashier position, because he wasn’t good at approaching customers and appeared stand-offish to some. It was where he wanted to be, even though he saw less of Petra that way, but it made life easier when the only thing he had to deal with was ringing up bras, undies, lotions, and clothing. Small talk was easy, and a quick smile was all he needed. 

* * *

**The Customer**

It was several months after he started working when it happened. He glanced up when he heard enthusiastic talking and saw a woman dragging a man into the perfume and lotion section. It was close to the cash register, so he could hear their conversation.

“This one smells so good!” the woman exclaimed, sniffing a tester.

“Hange, why did you drag me in here? I didn’t even know you wore this stuff.” The tall blond companion replied.

“I like their lotion and smell good stuff, okay? What, are you embarrassed? You’re gay, so shut up.” Hange answered, sniffing another tester. “This one is good too!”

The man sighed, and Levi’s breath hitched. He was gorgeous, and exactly Levi’s type. He had to focus on the customer in front of him, ringing up her thongs without so much as a flinch.

“Did you find everything okay?” he asked the woman, keeping an eye on the two other customers.

“Yeah, I just love these thongs!” the customer replied. He smiled at her, putting the merchandise in a bag and telling her the total. After she paid he looked up to see the tall blond and his excitable female friend were gone. Pouting slightly, he waited a few seconds before another customer approached with items.

There was a steady line for a few minutes, leaving little room to look around, but at least he wasn’t waiting. He didn’t even notice the two approach until the perfume was set on the counter and he glanced up to give his customary smile and saw the woman beaming behind her glasses.

“I convinced him to get me this one, it’s for my birthday which he forgot.” She told Levi.

Levi coughed, slightly startled, and slid his eyes up to the taller man’s, who shook his head. “I was busy, okay? Besides, you always change the date when I ask.”

“It’s to keep you on your toes!”

Levi smiled, totaling the amount. The man stepped up to swipe his card.

“What’s your e-mail?” Levi asked a bit tentatively. It was normal, but for some reason it felt more personal this time.

“Hm?” a thick eyebrow was raised and Levi stopped breathing for a moment.

“It’s uh, to receive discounts and stuff.” Levi replied.

“I don’t really shop here a lot, but it’s wings of freedom at titan dot com.”

Levi typed it out.

“And…phone? It’s another thing we ask…”

The man shot his friend a glare before rattling off the numbers. Levi definitely didn’t bring the information up the next chance he got to put into his cell phone or anything. Nope.

***

“Petra, I think I’m in love.” he said, voice monotone as usual, on his next break. They were outside smoking a cigarette.

“Oh really? It’s not one of our bosses, is it?” she joked. She liked to bring it up sometimes for a laugh.

“No. A customer. Well, he bought it for his friend, but still.”

“Ohhh, the tall blond guy with that weird four-eyed freak?”

“Yeah. Mr. Heartthrob. I hope she drags him in again soon. I may have snagged his number and email from the computer system.”

“Bad boy!” Petra smacked his arm playfully. “It happens all the time. But have you tried to contact him yet?”

“No, too chicken. Besides, what would I say? ‘Hey, I illegally wrote down your email and number so I could stalk you like a perv’?”

She laughed again. “No, maybe something like ‘Hey we have a new line of that perfume your friend likes’ or something and pretend it’s a normal message.”

“I’m pretty sure that would get me fired.”

“Yeahhh…it would.” She laughed again as he pulled a drag on his cigarette. “I was joking, anyway. You’ll just have to wait until he comes in again.”

“I mean, women wear underwear and bras, even weird ones like her. Plus she might use a lot of perfume, so they may be back soon.”

“Pffft. A woman like that doesn’t buy her panties and bras from Victoria’s Secret. Maybe Wal-Mart. Or she goes commando.”

“Wow Petra, didn’t need that image in my head.”

“Would you prefer to see him in a thong instead?”

“Yes.”

They were laughing again, and time ran out. Back to work.

* * *

**Return of the Blond**

This time he was alone. It was close to Christmas, so Levi assumed he was shopping for gifts. The store was packed because everyone and their mother wanted to get a gift card. He watched the man glance at the lotion selection and perfume bottles, contemplating which ones to get.

Levi wasn’t sure if it would be weird to make a comment about the perfume or not, so he simply gave his usual smile as he rang up the items the man eventually chose.

“You were working here last time I came in, right? A couple months ago?” the man asked.

Levi blinked. The handsome bastard remembered him. Damn. “Um, yeah. You were with that one woman who liked perfume a lot.”

The blond chuckled. “Yeah, Hange has a thing for this stuff, although I never knew she wore perfume.”

“Did she run out already?” Levi asked, eyeing the gifts he was wrapping.

“Not yet, but when she does I’ll give her this one. Plus I needed to get my mother something.”

“No girlfriend?” Levi dared to ask, casually.

“No, I prefer male companionship.” The man replied.

Double Damn. Levi remembered Hange calling him gay the first time they were in the store.

“Cool…” was the only thing he could say as he totaled the purchase.

“I assume you are too, since I doubt a straight man would want to work here.”

“Ha…yeah, I am. It was weird at first, but I kinda like it here.” Levi told him.

“I bet. Well, thanks. My name is Erwin by the way.” The man offered his hand over the counter.

Levi shook it, feeling awkward yet excited at the same time. “Levi.” He replied.

“I’m not sure if I’ll come in here again anytime soon, but it was nice chatting with you.” Erwin replied as he collected the bag.

“Yeah, same here.” Levi replied and smiled as he watched Erwin go. He was paying close attention to the man’s ass until Petra got in the way of his view.

“He came back.” the woman smiled knowingly.

“Yep.” Levi replied, lips smacking.

Erwin and Levi started dating a few months later after Hange and Petra discovered there was a mutual attraction between the two men and began scheming to get them together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: This concept was originally inspired by my job hunting, specifically applying and going through the interview process at Victoria’s Secret. Sadly, I only made it to the second interview and haven’t heard back (but I have a job in my career field so all is well). That means everything after the interview part is pure bullshit that I made up based on what I know of the company, so please don’t sue me.
> 
> You can suggest jobs for Levi to work, and be sure to look out for more sassy shenanigans in the next installment of Working Levi! Each chapter is unconnected with the first, this is just an excuse to see Levi working weird jobs.


	2. Work, Bitch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In today's episode, Levi experiences Hell as a call center employer, trying to get people to pay their damn bills on time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own call centers or Attack on Titan.
> 
> I can’t remember who, but someone from tumblr suggested “Levi working at a call center getting complaints from annoying people and having to put up with them.” I’ve never worked at a call center, but here we go.

“Ma’am, you don’t have to yell. I have a high-quality headset. Trust me, I can hear you just fine at a normal talking tone.” Levi droned in a monotonous voice. “No ma’am, I’m not sassing you. I would never use sarcasm during a professional call.” He sighed, rubbing his forehead and closing his eyes. “I understand ma’am. I’m just being courteous. No, I am not insinuating that you’re old. Forty-five is very young, I agree.” He leaned back, hanging his head over his chair to stretch his neck. “Can we get back on topic now, ma’am? About the payment. Yes, I know the economy sucks, but you still need to—,”

As his line went dead, he grit his teeth and took his headphones off. The coworker beside him was trying to hold back a laugh. “The bitch hung up on me after almost an hour of arguing.” He growled. His head hit the desk and he groaned. “How much longer do I have to do this?”

“Levi, it’s only twelve o’clock.” His coworker stated, unable to hold back the laughter as he loudly groaned again.

*** 

“Lunchtime, finally.” Levi sighed as he removed his headset and vacated his stiff chair. He took two more calls after the first woman, with no better results. He was called numerous insulting names, and half of them sounded made up on the spot. People didn’t seem to appreciate his calls. Well, his company didn’t appreciate them skipping out on their bills. Half the people he spoke to went on some spiel about the economy, and trying to make a living, and not making enough to pay for half the things they buy. Levi wondered why these idiots decided to buy a new car if they could ‘barely put food on the table’ as one man put it.

“You’ve only been doing this a few months.” His coworker said as they sat down to eat.

“I have a feeling I won’t be able to continue for much longer. I mean, some people are nice and understanding. Honest mistakes, forgetfulness, whatever. But some people…” he clenched his feet. “Some people I just want to stab in the neck.”

His companion laughed again. “Why the neck?”

“To make them quit talking.” He said in all seriousness, making his friend scream in the middle of the cafeteria. Everyone was used to Hanji’s behavior at this point, however, even Levi.

“At least you have Petra to keep you sane.” Hanji replied when the laughing fit was over.

“Barely. She nearly strangled someone at her job the other day. They thought she was a student instead of the teacher. I wanted to be there so bad just to see the look she gave that mother.” He smiled wryly.

“Ever think of having kids?”

“Tch, no way. They’re icky and just as annoying as the people we deal with on a daily basis. Petra is enough.”

All talk ceased as they scarfed down their meals in the half hour they got to stuff their stomachs. Then it was back to work, and angry people screaming at him for simply asking a question.

***

Levi lifted the earpiece away from his head as the lady kept shrieking at him. His face was scrunched up in a wince, headache pounding against his skull. This was the first person since lunch to start yelling at him. He had a few reasonable people who apologized and immediately sent in payment, which gave him hope for finishing out the day on a good note, but then this woman decided to ruin his good vibes.

“Listen, I understand you have issues, we just want our payment. I can’t give you another extension, I already explained that. Because you have too many. You can only extend your payment three times. Last time someone spoke with you was the third extension. No ma’am, it says it right here in the notes on your account. I’m looking right at it. I doubt it’s wrong. Each extension has been documented. Yes, I can count to three.”

Levi’s face was getting heated as the woman started insulting his intelligence. He knew more than this woman when it came to paying bills on time, at least.

“Levi.”

His eyes widened as he turned to see his boss with that look on his face that meant someone was going to go home crying into their pillow. With a jerk of his head, Boss Man indicated it was time for a meeting. Hopefully one that didn’t involve a pink slip, or whatever color they were now-a-days.

“Alright ma’am, as long as you promise to get the payment on time, we won’t have to repossess your car. I’m going to let you go now. Have a good day.” Before she started squawking again he ripped the headset off and set it on his desk, locking his computer and heading into his bosses’ office.

He sat in front of the nameplate that read Erwin Smith as the man closed the door behind him. It was silent as he came around to sit in his chair, putting his elbows on his desk and staring at Levi intently.

“So.”

This was it. He was going to be crying into his pillow tonight.

“I’ve heard a few of your calls over the past week.”

Petra was going to kill him.

“There seemed to be a lot of angry people on the other line.”

_Don’t make a snappy comeback about how they probably didn’t like being hounded for bill payments. Just keep your mouth shut. You can do it, Levi._

He kept his face impassive as always, even though he was sweating in his suit. Despite the fact that none of the people he worked with actually saw him, he still dressed nice every day. Some of his coworkers did the same…while others wore sweats and baggy band tees. He didn’t realize Hanji was a Journey fan until he saw four different shirts over the course of a few weeks.

Erwin was silent again and Levi wondered if he should speak.

“Um…am I taking too long with each call?” he asked quietly. He knew that was an issue in the beginning, getting his quota and making sure each call only went for so long. Lately he started to lax, because getting people to agree to make a payment was more his priority, and they took up most of the call time with rants he heard numerous times on a daily basis. He could practically quote them word for word at this point. He almost did once.

_Oh shit, maybe I slipped up?_

“No. When people won’t let you speak, it’s hard to stick to a set time limit. Even I understand that.” Erwin replied. Levi was relieved, yet still worried about what the issue was. “I’m actually quite impressed.”

“Wait what.” Levi winced as he spoke out loud. “Sorry, that…wasn’t what I expected.”

Erwin shrugged. “People think I’m intimidating just because my face is sculpted like a Greek god or something. And I have massive shoulders. But Mike has massive shoulders and everyone thinks he’s a teddy bear.”

“That’s because he is.” Levi whispered and coughed. At least the man was hairy enough to be bear. Kinda smelled like one too.

“Anyway, I have a lot of workers who get frustrated with people and end up in yelling matches or arguments, which isn’t good for business. But you, on the other hand, maintain a courteous, even tone and haven’t once insulted someone. At least not out loud or over the phone. For that, I commend you.”

“Thanks.” Levi was elated. Well, as elated as someone with resting bitch face could appear to be.

“I almost wonder how you do it.” Erwin chuckled. “But then again, people say I was the same back when I took calls.”

“Wait, you were doing that when you first started?” Levi asked, awed. This guy was the head honcho. Regional director or some hot shot shit like that. He couldn’t imagine Erwin on the phones with the people he had to deal with. Then again, his smooth voice and natural charisma probably made it easy to handle the feisty ones.

“How do you think I got here?” Erwin indicated his office. “What I’m saying is, if you keep it up, you might get promoted soon. And maybe, who knows, one day you’ll end up where I am.”

“You’ll probably be the CEO by then.”

Erwin chuckled again. “Aim high, I always say.” He winked.

“Well I appreciate what you said. You had me scared for a moment. I thought I was going to be fired or something.” Levi cracked a smile.

“You certainly didn’t look scared. Honestly, sometimes you look downright menacing.” Erwin smiled back.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. This job isn’t for the weak. Now, I wanted to give you a break from that madness on the other line—yeah, I was listening in—but now we both need to get back to work. Feel free to take a few more breaks in between those intense calls, though. I don’t want you breaking down before you get promoted.” Erwin grinned.

“Thanks.” Levi muttered, going back to his desk. He sat there, staring at his computer and blinking blankly, for a few moments.

“Psssst! What happened?” Hanji leaned over to whisper.

“He said I was doing a good job and to keep it up.” Levi replied.

“Really? I thought he was reaming you in there! Congrats.”

“Yeah…thanks.”

***

Just a few years later, Levi found himself sitting at his new desk, which happened to be in Erwin Smith’s former office. The fancier room meant fancier pay, which helped with the little ones at home. He still couldn’t believe Petra talked him into not only one, but _two_ brats. Erwin’s new office was larger and oversaw a wider reach. Being the CEO, that only made sense.

And now Levi was sitting across from a new hire, fresh out of college, who had a lot of energy—too much energy.

“You can’t argue with them, it only makes things worse.”

“But they make me so angry!” the young man growled, clenching his fist.

“Look, I get it. Just try to be more careful next time. If you have to, just take your headphones off until they’re done ranting.”

“You sound like you’ve done this before.” The kid squinted his eyes at him.

“How the hell do you think I made if this far? We all have to start somewhere.” Levi told him. “But you have a _long_ way to go if you keep it up.”

The kid pouted. “My temper has always been a big issue, but I can’t seem to get a handle on it once I’m pissed off enough.”

“Take some anger management classes from HR. Or go see a therapist.” Levi muttered. He tilted his head to the side. “Hey Eren…what made you take this job in the first place if you knew you’d just yell at people all day?”

The college graduate looked him dead in the eye with one of those straight-faced expressions and said, “I needed the job, and my degree is useless.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: This looks like a good place to stop. Even though I’ve never worked at a call center before, my mom did something like this for Ford Credit, so I used her experiences from when she’d come home complaining about her day. I hope you enjoyed the slight Rivetra and Boss!Erwin. He’s probably going to be the boss in a lot of these, because his eyebrows just scream leader to me.


	3. As Long As I Got My Suit & Tie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi is a tax consultant and Eren is filing his taxes for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I am not a tax consultant, nor do I own Attack on Titan.
> 
> I just got my taxes done, and figured now was as good a time as ever to write this. I also can’t remember who suggested this, or if this was one of my ideas.

“So this is your first time filing?”

Levi glanced up from the mountain of mostly useless documents that was dumped onto his perfectly neat and clean desk by the young man sitting in front of him. The guy looked a bit nervous, unsure, and all around confused. His startling green eyes stared at him as if he were a savior.

“Yeah.” He replied.

“Okay, well, let’s see what you’ve got here…” Levi murmured, rifling through the paperwork. There were bills, receipts, letters, bank statements, and… “You really didn’t need to bring your birth certificate.”

The kid scratched the back of his head. “Oh, I just wasn’t sure so I brought everything.”

“I can see that.”

They sat in awkward silence for a moment as Levi sorted through the junk to find the bits of gold he would need to fill out this simple 1040EZ form. He put the useful documents in one neat pile and handed the rest back to his client.

“Eren, was it?” he asked, finally prepared to begin the real work. The kid nodded in affirmation. “I’m Levi.” They shook hands. Eren’s were a bit cold and clammy, despite being jammed in between his legs just moments before. “We’ll be looking at your tuition statements and loans first. You graduated last year, right?”

Eren nodded again. “Mhm. In May.”

Levi gave a slight nod to indicate he understood. “So this is just for the beginning of the year, correct?” he asked again, gesturing toward the tuition and loan statements. Eren nodded again. “And you began paying near the end of the year, in December?” Another nod.

Levi started running the numbers, looking at the amount of loans owed and the amount of interest already paid out. It didn’t seem like much, since it was just the beginning of a very long repayment plan.

“It doesn’t look like you’ll get much back from that, since you just started paying. I can put it in, but it will end up costing you more than what you’ll be getting back from it. For next year, if you keep these payments up, you’ll get considerably more back.” he explained.

“O-okay.” Eren nodded, looking slightly distressed.

“I know you’re expecting to get as much as you can, and I’ll try to get you as much as possible, but the fees outweigh the return. You’ll have to bite the bullet for this. However, you can always bring in these statements next year and I can add them in.”

A hopeful expression replaced the disappointment, and Eren smiled. “Sounds good.”

“Right, moving on to employment.” Levi picked up the W2 documents Eren provided, adding the income up for each one. The kid had moved from job to job throughout the year, mostly retail and fast food establishments, but he made enough to justify a return. “Are these all of the W2 statements from every job you’ve worked over the past year? We need to make sure everything is accounted for when we file, because the IRS gets the same statements. If something is missing, they might audit you for it.”

Eren scrunched up his face, digging in his pocket for a crumpled piece of notebook paper. Levi noticed that several workplaces were listed and crossed off.

“Yeah, I got the last one in the mail the other day.” He confirmed.

“Good. You’ve made enough income to warrant a pretty decent return.” Levi noted as he filled out all of the employment information.

“I just hope it’s enough.” Eren muttered, more to himself than Levi, the tax consultant thought.

“Don’t we all.” Levi murmured back. He’d seen plenty of people come through his office wanting as much money as they could get back for various reasons. Vacations, bills, business ventures, birthday presents, investments. Everyone wanted to squeeze out as much money as they could, down to the last penny. He was used to seeing desperation, confusion, and disappointment, as well as hope, excitement, and contentedness in his office.

“Do you do your own taxes?” Eren blurted out without thinking. He ducked his head, probably realizing it sounded like a silly question. “Sorry, the idea just popped into my head.”

Levi almost smiled. He’d gotten that question a lot as well, probably once a day during prime tax season. “Yeah. But sometimes if I want to double-check, I get one of my coworkers to look through the paperwork. Mine is pretty standard, and the form is pretty easy to fill out once you know what you’re doing.”

“Yeah, you practically do this all day, right? Seems like it wouldn’t be too hard.” Eren said, then winced. “Not that I’m saying your job is easy, I mean, of course it’s difficult or else people would just do it on their own. But you’ve had a lot of training and stuff, right? Did you go to college for this?”

“I took a few accounting classes, yeah.” Levi said. “And not all taxes are easy. When you get into marriages with shared properties, plus individual investments, with kids and a dog and five different charities they donate to on a regular basis, things get more complicated.” He added.

Eren actually looked interested, which was a mild surprise to Levi, and he kept going. “I have some people who will try anything to get as much money as possible. They’ll make things up to try to get tax credits, like shelling out five bucks for a box of Girl Scout cookies and calling it a charitable donation, when all they did was hand some cash over to a little girl. Others are more crafty, and they’ll actually bring in receipts. Of course, I have to be careful, because half the time they’re from a couple years ago.”

“Wow.” Eren said, chuckling. “That must be a pain, having to deal with that.”

Levi shrugged. “I don’t mind too much, as long as they don’t try to force it. My job is to make sure everything is legal and you are protected from the IRS, but also to ensure the government receives its much-needed tax money. People don’t realize what all taxes go towards. Practically all government jobs are funded mostly on tax dollars, which people are so reluctant to give and eager to receive. You have teachers, police departments, welfare programs, health care, and all kinds of things that rely on people paying taxes and not cheating the system.”

“But people still avoid paying, somehow.” Eren said. “I hear about tax evasion and stuff on TV. Do people really do that? How can you get away with not paying your taxes? All of the jobs I’ve worked take taxes directly out of my paycheck before I even get it.”

“It’s mostly people who work for themselves, and either neglect to file out of forgetfulness or greed, or simply don’t think they deserve to pay. I can’t do much about that, though. When I’m not on the job, I tend to ignore what people say about taxes. Even if they come out and say they’ve been cheating for years, as long as I’m out at lunch, there’s nothing really to be done. And of course, they wouldn’t admit to evading taxes in a tax preparation office, so there’s never the possibility to catch someone.”

“Wow.” Eren said again.

“But anyway, let’s get back to your return.” Levi glanced at the clock. This was his last appointment of the night, and he had already worked a long day. They always extended the hours during tax season, for people who worked 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. jobs and couldn’t get time on the weekends to drop by the office. Eren made his appointment earlier in the day, taking the very last slot available. Levi thought maybe he’d get to go home an hour early today, but at least he was still making money.

Eren watched as Levi entered all of the information in, one W2 form at a time.

“Sorry there are so many.” He said sheepishly after a while.

“No problem. You’re fresh out of college and the economy is shit, I’m surprised you even found this many jobs.”

“Yeah, well, the anger issues don’t help much either.” Eren muttered, scratching his neck.

Levi paused. “Anger issues?” he asked tentatively. The kid looked easygoing enough, more nervous than anything else. For some reason he couldn’t imagine seeing him go into a rage. Then again, looks were deceiving, as he knew quite personally.

“Um, yeah…” Eren shifted in his seat, looking uncomfortable.

“I don’t mean to pry, but if you’ve received any kind of therapy or something that involves funding, it could be relevant to your return.”

“Oh, how so?” Eren asked.

“We try to find as many ways as possible to ensure you get the return you deserve, and since everyone is different, with their own unique situation, there are a few tricks we like to use. If you have a disability, or mental instability, it could mean a larger return. Not that I’m saying anger issues is a mental disorder or anything, but if you’ve been treated for it, we can consider that tax-deductible.”

“Really?” Eren asked, eyes wide. “I didn’t know that. Um, I had an…altercation at one point and was put into a medical facility. It was just for a few days, and then they enrolled me in an anger management program. I was doing better and didn’t have any incidents so they let me pass the course. Do I need to bring in that stuff? Actually, I think it might be in here…” Eren rummaged through the pile of documents he brought in.

Levi didn’t think he saw anything pertaining to medical expenses, but he wasn’t looking too hard when they first sat down. When Eren finally let out a noise of victory and pulled out a letter, he understood why he didn’t notice it. The letter didn’t look like a medical billing statement or anything else he’d seen before. It was from a mental hospital, which he rarely saw statements for, and outlined the program.

“There was a fee, and also I think some court costs. Oh yeah, that was the month I went without electricity.” Eren murmured, looking through more documents. Levi’s eyes widened a bit at that, and he took the letter to examine. “Ah, here it is. I got fired from my job because of it, so things were pretty crazy for a while.”

“Understandable. I’m glad you’re okay now.” Levi said, meeting Eren’s eye. It wasn’t because he felt threatened, but mostly because the young man looked happy and relatively healthy.

“Um, thanks.” Eren said, fidgeting again as Levi perused the documents.

“Okay, we can work with this. It’s not going to be much, but this will boost your return a bit. Do you happen to have the electricity bill for that month? It would help to determine whether the cost of this program and the legal fees were more than your income could cover.”

“Uhhh…” Eren rifled through the papers again. “Most of the stuff I have online; I tried to print out as much as I could. Hold on, let me see if I can find it.”

Levi nodded and began entering the information anyway. He had a feeling that it would come out to be in Eren’s favor, since he mentioned skipping out on a bill. As a consultant, he knew how expensive legal and medical bills could get.

“I think this is it. They cut my service off when I couldn’t pay for the month, then charged me a late fee when I finally sent them money, and also a reconnection fee for having to turn it back on. I was working at…” Eren reached across to shift through the W2 statements. “This place when it happened.” He said, pointing to the document. “They tried to keep my last week’s pay from me since they fired me, and I had to fight them—in court—to get what I earned until the incident. They also tried to sue me for what happened, since it involved another coworker and was on the premises, so they kind of cancelled each other out.”

“Alright.” Levi gathered all of the papers together and scanned them. “Yeah, this will help. This paper here from the mental hospital says you have an anger disorder, which was diagnosed during your stay, so all of those fees and such are due to that, and we’re allowed to file them in your return.”

“Cool. That was such a shitty part of my life, I didn’t think anything good would come of it. I mean, I’ve had problems with my anger ever since I was a kid, and got into plenty of trouble at school, but I never really thought it was a problem until a couple of years ago. No one else really said anything until one of my friends noticed it had gotten a bit out of hand. I would try to fight strangers on the street for no reason. I could be fine one minute, and then one snide comment from someone I barely knew—or even a close friend—could set me off.”

“Wow.” It was Levi’s turn to respond. “And this program helped?” he asked, lifting the letter.

Eren nodded. “Yeah, they taught me some things to do when I felt angry and out of control. Also suggested some activities to do in order to keep my anger in check. I started taking some boxing lessons, but I couldn’t afford it so I had to stop. Now I just do some stuff at home when I feel the need to let out some steam.”

“That’s a good idea. I work out regularly, but sometimes I’ll do an extra set when I’m stressed.” Levi told him. He went back to the tax return, inputting the rest of the information. “Alright, originally you were going to get back $655, but now you’ll be receiving $988. Sound better?”

“Definitely.” Eren breathed, smiling in relief. “I’m so glad you brought that up, I would have never known to consider that.”

“They never told you about it being tax-deductible?” Levi asked with a slight frown.

“Nope. Never really came up. They wanted their money.” Eren gave a slight chuckle. “But if it ever happens again, now I’ll know.”

“Well, for your own health, I hope it doesn’t.”

“Yeah, I’d rather get a better return from a stable job in my career field.” Eren stated. Levi nodded in agreement.

He filled out the rest of the information quickly, making sure there wasn’t anything else they both might have missed, before printing out copies and handing them over. “You’re all set. I’ll file this for you and you should be getting your return within a month’s time. We only charge $50 for simple forms like this. I can take it out of your return or you can pay now, either way is fine.”

“Ummm…” Eren dug out his wallet and flipped it open. Levi saw the inner debate going on in Eren’s mind as he struggled to figure out if it would be easier to pay now or receive less in his return. Dinner tonight, or bills next month? “I…think it would be best to take it out of my return.” He said, somewhat sheepish.

“That’s fine. There’s just a small fee, but I can see about waiving it for you. Everyone has to do taxes, or _should_ at least, so we try not to penalize you for it.”

“Thanks. For all of your help.” Eren said with a genuine smile. They shook hands again and Levi gave him the copies of his return and paperwork.

“I’ll see you next year.” He said, holding out his card.

“Yep, see you then!” Eren replied, taking it and putting it in his wallet. Most people shoved it in their tax packet, never to be looked at again until they were scrambling to file taxes the next year. Levi allowed himself a small smile as he watched Eren go. He had a feeling he’d see him again, sooner or later.

***

_Omake_

Levi did indeed see Eren later, at the store while shopping for groceries. They chatted, Eren talking about his new job in the career he actually went to college for, Levi noting how slow things had gotten since tax season was over.

By the next year Levi was doing Eren’s taxes yet again, but instead of in the office, it was in his own apartment, shared with Eren. The year after that, they filed as a married couple for the first time, and Levi got to see firsthand how marriage effected tax returns, although he didn’t mind as much as he thought it would. Eren was worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: Again, I know next to nothing about taxes, so if I got anything wrong, just let me know and I’ll try to fix it. I pretty much made up some stuff, especially the numbers, so don’t quote me on anything. Also, I suggest going to a tax consultant for your first time filing, because they’ll be able to catch stuff and walk you through the process so you don’t make a mistake. Plus, for a simple 1040EZ form or whatever, it doesn’t cost too much to have a professional file it for you.


End file.
